Organic Farm Share presents…

By Organic Farm Share | Published: February 18, 2012

2PM to 5:30PM, $20

NERANG BICENTENNIAL COMMUNITY CENTRE
833 SOUTHPORT-NERANG RD, NERANG

The Glocals Forum is a platform for local, social, health & environmental leaders presenting practical approaches & solutions that can be measured & witnessed. We call them Glocals. They come from all walks of life and disciplines with one thing in common; they’re out there actualising transformative ideas that have the capacity to regenerate both society & the environment we live in. Each Glocal has an opportunity to give the essence of their transformational idea for our bioregion in 20 minutes & closes with a 2 minute practical “Transition Request” that you can action & contribute to glocal change. Also featuring some great local musicians with lovely Gold Coast Glocal, Nadia Sunde, as MC.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK NOW

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Our farm plan

By Organic Farm Share | Published: February 10, 2012

Our plans for the farm are nearing completion and we now begin the task of materialising those plans. The illustration below gives some indication of what we have planned for our polyculture system.

We have scheduled the planting and growing of over 60 types of vegetables, fruits and nuts. Our animals include hens, bees, cattle, pigs, goats and fish. Our forestry area will see the planting of indigenous trees such as cedar, pine and black butt to name a few. The infrastructure, amongst necessary farm operational needs such as sheds, includes a conference / common room and luxury safari tents for owner-members to stay in and enjoy.

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Successful Completion of Stage 1

By Organic Farm Share | Published: November 24, 2011

Our first Offer Document (Prospectus) closed on Thursday 20th October and we now have 225 owner-members (shareholders). In financial terms, this means that we have fully paid off our farm and have working capital to begin the next stage.

Our first objective was to fully pay off the land which we consider real security for all involved. Having achieved this first step we can now move forward without any encumbrance such as a mortgage over the land.

2012 promises to be a year that will see the beginning of the realisation of what we envisage will be the most beautiful and productive farm in the world!

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Time for change

By Organic Farm Share | Published: November 20, 2011

The world’s food production and distribution system is in dire need of change. We must leave behind a system that propagates unhealthy farming practices and disconnects us from nature. We must depart from the practices that result in an enormous amount of synthetic chemical pollution and waste from excessive packaging and reduce the significant distances our food travels to get from the farm to our plates. These wasteful practices are responsible for the continuing degradation of our health and that of our environment.

This must be replaced with a thriving bio-regional and local organic food system. One that reflects the beauty of nature and is mindful of the need for regeneration of the soil which, if fertile, will produce quality nutrient-dense foods for generations.

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Member Events

By Organic Farm Share | Published: November 12, 2011

Organic Farm Share is creating a true community – a group of people united by a common purpose. It’s about people creating something of value and meaning together. The benefits of that creation flow back to the owner-members in tangible ways: high quality foods, rebates, and profits as well as community events and workshops and more. For example, here are some cooking classes organised for owner-members over the next couple of months:

Asian Salads – cooked and raw
with Nura Tashiro of Passionfruit Foods

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nura Tashiro, owner-member and professional cook is conducting an Asian Salads cooking class with tastings of Japanese and Thai side dishes, condiments and pickles followed by learning how to cook 3 main dishes.

Gourmet, gluten-free treats and desserts for any occasion
with Deborah Oberon of The Juicy Fig

Deborah’s gorgeous, gourmet, gluten-free treats and desserts will be consumed with gusto even by dedicated gluten fans! Warning: Don’t attend this workshop if you are on a diet.

 

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Polyculture Farming – the way forward

By Organic Farm Share | Published: November 5, 2011

Organic Farm Share is a polyculture farming system (poly meaning many). This is in contrast to the conventional method of monoculture farming practices (mono meaning single), where crops are grown in rows such as rows of cabbages or rows of apricot trees. Monoculture farming is in complete contrast to how plants grow in nature and is one of the major reasons agriculture has such a detrimental effect on our environment. A polyculture system, on the other hand, mimics nature. In the photo below, you can see a polyculture test plot. Sitting in the midst of the vegetables is Jonathan, one of Organic Farm Share’s key consultants.

A good example of how polyculture works can be seen when we look at corn. Corn takes a lot of nitrogen out of the soil. In Australia, we import around 50% of our fertilisers including nitrogen, which is sprayed onto soil to replace what has been removed by the corn. In a polyculture system, when growing corn for example, one grows legumes such as beans nearby which draw nitrogen from the atmosphere and fix it into the soils. Nature also utilises animal waste. The manure from one average cow will put 105kg nitrogen, 37kg calcium, 15kg phosphorous, 14kg potassium and 12kg magnesium back into the soil. In other words, 10 cows on a property will put well over 1 tonne of nitrogen back into the soil every year.

Polyculture farming not only works in a symbiotic way like nature but also produces a far greater amount of food per acre than conventional farming.

 

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The real cost of food packaging

By Organic Farm Share | Published: October 29, 2011

Organic Farm Share will have artisan food producers creating beautiful organic foods such as jams, sauces, pastas and bread for our owner-members. Hence, it was very important for us to consider our packaging system very carefully.

Glass in Australia is mostly imported from Asia. After being passed from distributor to producer to distributor and finally from store to household, around 40% of it ends up in landfill and is not recycled. The glass that is recycled usually travels thousands of kilometres. A lot of energy is consumed to melt that glass at high temperatures of around 1400 degrees and form it into another glass product. Then the whole cycle starts again.

Have you ever been to a sand mine? It is not a pleasant sight:  a place where nature is degraded and in some locations in Asia, a great deal of marine life is destroyed in the dredging process. And we import that glass so in reality we are responsible.

A simpler option is to have local sterilisation equipment so jars can be returned to be sterilised and then reused. This way, a jar can have a life cycle of 10 or even 20 times until the glass is broken and then recycled.

 

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Supporting local food artisans

By Organic Farm Share | Published: October 22, 2011

An important aspect of Organic Farm Share is to engage co-producers. The picture below is of one of our co-producers, Despina Petri – a local food artisan. She makes hand-made pasta that is organic, beautiful and tasty.

There are a number of local food artisans being attracted to Organic Farm Share who produce gourmet cheeses, breads, sauces, raw food delicacies and a host of other delicious foods. This doesn’t mean that these foods through Organic Farm Share will attract a David Jones price. On the contrary, gourmet foods can be very cost-effective if produced and distributed effectively locally.

 

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Food security

By Organic Farm Share | Published: October 16, 2011

One of the primary reasons for bringing Organic Farm Share into being is Food Security. Over the next 30 to 50 years the world will need to increase its food production by 110%. In other words, in the next one to two generations, we will need to more than double our food output.

Under the conventional agricultural system, this increase in food production will have to be achieved with 1/3 less resources (such as soil and phosphate) and 50% less water.

Phosphate is a non-renewable resource. In other words, it is mined – we cannot manufacture it and, like oil, demand is starting to outstrip supply.

Currently, approximately 45% of the world’s surface is used for agriculture and 1% of that disappears every year mainly due to urban sprawl. Along with urbanisation comes increased demand for water, which is diverted away from agriculture.

We can, however, choose to do it differently and that’s exactly what we are doing at Organic Farm Share.

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Animal Husbandry

By Organic Farm Share | Published: September 30, 2011

This week, we would like to introduce you to owner-members Beth and Lyndon Blok, who are currently planning our livestock management system. Lyndon and Beth had a small organic farm on the NSW mid-north coast where they grew and produced organic and biodynamic fruit, vegetables, and eggs, and ran a small herd of Dexter cattle.

A primary focus of the animal husbandry system of Organic Farm Share is ethical and humane treatment of our animals. This is a key consideration in the planning.

 

“The opportunity to be involved in an enterprise that has the potential to transform the face of agriculture in Australia and then the world is really exciting to me. From the way food is grown, the land appreciated and allowed to flourish, to how animals are raised, nurtured and respected is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.”

“From my perspective, Organic Farm Share is a balanced, holistic and complete model for the future of food production through the creation of community. It is a powerful model for sustainable farming. It is people taking ownership and being fully connected to where their food comes from. I am honoured to be involved with this enterprise.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lyndon and Beth have a shared commitment to the well-being of people, the respect and love of animals and a real interest and passion for organic/biodynamic farming practices.

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